thankful.

I am thankful for so much that I just don’t know where to begin. 2013 has been a whirlwind. So many things have happened and I give glory and honor to God for all of my incredible blessings. I am so blessed where I am and who I am with. I’m blessed with my family and my own personal growth and my new church family. I am blessed to have friends over the miles who I cherish even if I don’t see them every day. I am blessed to have been raised in such an amazing, loving family. I’m blessed to live in a country where the gospel is spread freely. Blessed to have so many freedoms. So blessed to have forgiveness and salvation. Blessed. Just, blessed.

I’m a visual person, so I pulled a few pictures from the year…

I could post more and more but I don’t have the time and I need to get in the kitchen to make some sweet potato dumplings. But I just wanted to wish my friends and family a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all of you!

Morning Glories : Meditate!

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2

Yesterday’s verse had to do with ‘oh how happy’ is the man, and so does today’s! I had a different verse picked out, one that was stuck in my head all day yesterday, but then I got to thinking about these two verses, mainly because of what verse two says about meditating on the law of the Lord. The reason this really stuck out to me was because yesterday I had a different Psalm stuck in my head and I found myself thinking about it all day and I did find that I was pretty much happy all day long.

These two verses say that the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly, who doesn’t stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful is a happy man – because his delight is in the law of the Lord and he meditates on it day and night. I found this to be true with me yesterday! As long as I had my thoughts on scripture, on godly thoughts, on things that really uplifted me… I was happy!

So I will share with you the verse that was ‘stuck’ in my head all day long, which I thought about as I went about my way:

“This is the day that the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

Keep that in your heart today and think about it every chance you get and see if you don’t feel happy. Doesn’t that verse, just reading it, bring a smile to your face? Each and every day that we wake up to is a blessing from God and we should rejoice and be glad in it! We may be dealing with many trials all at once, we may be sick or have sick loved ones, or maybe we just don’t feel like we got enough sleep… maybe we are dealing with money issues or find ourselves without a job, but just think… God has blessed you with another day on this earth. 

Why not make the best of it while you can? Rejoice. Be glad in it. You are able to choose the mood that you are in, why not choose to be thankful to God? See if you don’t feel blessed if you do.

I hope you all face the new day with a mind to meditate on God’s word! Have a blessed day!

Morning Glories : Be Blessed!

I said I would bring these back, and here we are! For a bit I'm going to repost some old ones as I get back in the habit!

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD,
and whose hope the LORD is.” Jeremiah 17:7

I always enjoy the passages that open up with “Blessed is the man…” because it always brings a smile to my face. I know that whatever is going to follow that phrase is going to be something good. I love that the word “blessed” is literally translated as “oh how happy!”. “Oh how happy is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” How can you read that passage and others like it and not feel happy?

Trusting in God is something that I have had to learn to do ‘the hard way’. I never really knew what it meant to trust in God until I had no other option than to do just that. But as soon as I did, things just … fell into place and I did become happy because I knew that God was taking care of me – I did have hope!

Our God is an awesome God! He cares for me, and He cares for YOU! I pray that today whatever might be weighing our minds down, we might give it up to God and let Him take the burden off of us. Trust in God! Find your hope in Him and let yourself be blessed!

I hope you all have a beautiful day! 

All My Mistakes

We may not all have a whole lot in common with each other, as in interests and things like that. But there is at least one thing that we all inevitably have in common with one another and that is that we are all human, and we all as humans make mistakes. Even those of us {meaning, myself included} who hate to admit that we make mistakes … I am saying right now that we, I, do. I know you are thinking, duh. We all know that. There is probably not one person who honestly believes that they are never, ever at fault for anything, ever. The Bible even says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” {1 John 1:8}

I’m thinking about me here. You’ll have to excuse me for a moment. But I mean … I have made a lot of mistakes. I mean a lot. I am not proud of any of them, and I have hopefully learned from them {although sometimes the lesson needs to be heard more than once … but like I said, I’m human}. And what … I don’t know  if this is the right word, but what baffles me is how patient God is with me. With me. I’m a mother of a nearly 3-year-old {don’t go gettin' teary-eyed on me, now, Kristen!} and I have a new puppy who pushes my buttons and things get ‘hairy’ around here {especially lately with my brand-new Achilles tendinitis, YAY D:} … and I admit that patience is not always my strong point … okay, hardly ever. But God… God is so patient with me, even when I make the same mistakes over and over and over. Do you know what some of my favorite verses are?

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:6-8

While WE {you, me, everyone!} were yet sinners, Christ DIED {not only died, but faced the most excruciatingly painful death known to man!!} for US {the UNGODLY!}. Why? Because He LOVES us.

I feel like you could knock me down with a feather every time I read that passage.

I am soooo not perfect, but because of verses like these, I want to try my hardest. It’s only right, right?

Thank God for second chances!! And third, and fourth, and fifth…

But with that we also have to remember that some day there may not be another chance… “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” Hebrews 9:27; “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14

 

I was reminded about this tonight as we watched two very dear friends get remarried – to each other. And I was thinking how powerful forgiveness is, and love, and the desire to reconcile with each other even when the most unthinkable have come between two people. But think about it. Doesn’t God do that every time we sin and then come back to Him in repentance? Amazing.

It just … wow. Amazing.

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And I just wanted, while I have your attention {that is, if} to say that I was featured over at Marli’s blog and I am so humbled by being featured over there! You should definitely check out her blog – she is such a sweet young woman! We don’t know each other very well but I love her dearly and her sweet sister Memory too.

Morning Glories: New Every Morning

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end:
They are new every morning!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul;
Therefore I will hope in Him!”
Lamentations 3:22-24

Good morning! I know that it has been a while since I have posted a Morning Glories post, but I figured today would be a good day to start off the day with a  little bit of glory for God.

This verse is another one that I can’t really read without singing the song. I really like this one! And it is so good to read on a Monday morning. I know it is so easy to dread Monday mornings because you’re coming off of the weekend and getting down to business once more, but instead of dreading it, we can look at this verse and be thankful that God is faithful, that His steadfast love never ceases, and that each morning brings new mercies, new blessings, and new opportunities to serve Him.

When you look at it that way, Monday morning doesn’t seem so daunting, right? 

I hope you all embrace this new Morning and continue hoping in God and living for Him! Have a beautiful Monday!

Morning Glories : Renew Your Strength!

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31

I have always thought this passage to be such an empowering passage. Don’t you think so? It’s a comforting passage in times of trial because we know that no matter what, when we are waiting upon the Lord, we are going to be renewed and strengthened! When we wait upon the Lord, we can soar to greater heights!

And sometimes this renewing doesn’t happen physically. But we can know that spiritually we can be nourished and enriched and strengthened when we do go to God and lean on Him, and give Him our cares! I have had times in my life where I have felt as though I were in the “depths of despair” (to quote Anne of Green Gables), and I admit that sometimes I would let myself get so far gone before remembering that God is always there for me. Sometimes it is hard to remember this when you’re going through so much! It really hasn’t been long since I have learned this lesson – honestly not even a year ago, when I felt like my world was crashing down all around us and there was nobody for us to turn to.

Until I realized that there was! God is always right where He’s always been, and it is up to us to seek Him!

And when we do seek Him… burdens are lifted; our spirits soar! What a blessing! God is so good to us!

I hope your day is beautiful and blessed! Don’t forget to pray! {I  need to practice this! Pray that I will make the time to meet my Father in prayer, please!}

Morning Glories : Meditate!

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2

Yesterday’s verse had to do with ‘oh how happy’ is the man, and so does today’s! I had a different verse picked out, one that was stuck in my head all day yesterday, but then I got to thinking about these two verses, mainly because of what verse two says about meditating on the law of the Lord. The reason this really stuck out to me was because yesterday I had a different Psalm stuck in my head and I found myself thinking about it all day and I did find that I was pretty much happy all day long.

These two verses say that the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly, who doesn’t stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful is a happy man – because his delight is in the law of the Lord and he meditates on it day and night. I found this to be true with me yesterday! As long as I had my thoughts on scripture, on godly thoughts, on things that really uplifted me… I was happy!

So I will share with you the verse that was ‘stuck’ in my head all day long, which I thought about as I went about my way:

“This is the day that the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

Keep that in your heart today and think about it every chance you get and see if you don’t feel happy. Doesn’t that verse, just reading it, bring a smile to your face? Each and every day that we wake up to is a blessing from God and we should rejoice and be glad in it! We may be dealing with many trials all at once, we may be sick or have sick loved ones, or maybe we just don’t feel like we got enough sleep… maybe we are dealing with money issues or find ourselves without a job, but just think… God has blessed you with another day on this earth. Why not make the best of it while you can? Rejoice. Be glad in it. You are able to choose the mood that you are in, why not choose to be thankful to God? See if you don’t feel blessed if you do.

I hope you all face the new day with a mind to meditate on God’s word! Have a blessed day and don’t forget to pray!

Morning Glories–Be Blessed!

Brand new to Bringing Up Benjamin!! I am going to start trying to do a short little devo in the morning here on my blog, just to start out my day with something uplifting. I’m calling it “Morning Glories” and I hope that you will enjoy these as much as I anticipate myself enjoying them! Feel free to snag the idea yourself.

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” Jeremiah 17:7

 

I always enjoy the passages that open up with “Blessed is the man…” because it always brings a smile to my face. I know that whatever is going to follow that phrase is going to be something good. I love that the word “blessed” is literally translated as “oh how happy!”. “Oh how happy is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” How can you read that passage and others like it and not feel happy?

Trusting in God is something that I have had to learn to do ‘the hard way’. I never really knew what it meant to trust in God until I had no other option than to do just that. But as soon as I did, things just … fell into place and I did become happy because I knew that God was taking care of me – I did have hope!

Our God is an awesome God! He cares for me, and He cares for YOU! I pray that today whatever might be weighing our minds down, we might give it up to God and let Him take the burden off of us. Trust in God! Find your hope in Him and let yourself be blessed!

I hope you all have a beautiful day! Don’t forget to pray!